Garment hanger



1964 J. B. MUELLER ETAL 3,162,342

GARMENT HANGER Filed March 4, 1963 INVENTORS JOHN BMUELLER BY THEODORE THORSEN .A TTORNEYS United States Patent Ofitice 3,162,342 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 3,162,342 GARMENT HANGER John B. Mueller and Theodore Thorsen, Peoria, 11]., as-

signors to W. A. Laidlaw Wire Company, Peoria, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 262,717 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to garment hangers and more particularly to wire hangers for coats, jackets and similar garments.

The best hangers heretofore known for coats, jackets and the like are wooden hangers made in a concave-convex shape with the shoulders forced outward and with the front of the jacket or coat at the collar moved inward. In such hangers the coat is supported primarily at the shoulders to hang in a substantially natural drape with the shoulders adequately supported so that the pads therein will not be broken and the back of the coat will hang straight.

Wire hangers as' heretofore formed have comprised a length of relatively still wire bent into a fiat, triangular shape with a hook formed at the apex of the triangle. When a coat, jacket or similar garment is supported on such a hanger it is engaged only by a single strand of wire in a generally vertical plane so that the padding in the shoulders tends to be broken and a sharp ridge is formed in the shoulder portion adjacent to the lapel-collar area. Furthermore, since such hangers are flat, the apex portion of the hanger which engages the collar portion of the coat or jacket tends to force the collar backward, causing it to wrinkle at the back of the coat and causing the lower back portion of the coat to billow.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a wire garment hanger which will support a coat or similar garment with a natural drape and which is suitable for shipment and storage of such garments.

Another object is to provide a garment hanger which creates bulk or substantial horizontal width at the tops l of the shoulders so that the pads in the garment shoulders will not be creased or broken and so that ridges will not be formed in the shoulder portions of the garment.

According to a feature of the invention, a horizontal spreader bar of the hanger is rebent horizontally at its ends to form generally horizontal loops on which the shoulder portions of the garment are supported. Preferably the loops are bent forwardly from the spreader bar to follow the natural drape contour of the garment to hang straight without billowing.

Another object is to provide a wire garment hanger in which the upper portion of the hanger which engages the neck or collar portion of the garment is bent forwardly to support the collar portion of the garment with a natural contour. The hook at the top of the hanger is preferably bent backwardly relative to the upper portion of the hanger to balance the hanger so that it will hang in the desired position.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of a hanger embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view.

The hanger as shown is formed of a length of relatively stiff wire, such as that commonly used for wire hangers, with a straight horizontal spreader bar 10 which is bent forwardly at its ends as shown at 11 at a relatively small acute angle. The end portions of the spreader bar are rebent to define loops indicated at 12, which are substantially horizontal but which may be inclined very slightly upwardly as shown. These loops extend substantially horizontally inward towards the center of the hanger and then are bent upwardly at an acute angle and backwardly toward the spreader bar in short straight lengths of wire 13 which partially define the shoulder portion of the hanger. The lengths of wire 13 extend substantially to the collar portion of the hanger where they are again bent forwardly in short bent portions 14, at the upper parts of which the wires turn horizontally inward in short portions 15, which are twisted together as shown at 16. One end of the wire extends above the twisted portions 16 and is formed into a hook 17, which is preferably of substantial square configuration to be retained on the supporting bars of hanger packs during shipment. The hook is preferably bent backward toward the spreader bar 10 as shown to balance the hanger so that it will hang in the desired position when it is hung from a supporting bar with a garment thereon.

A coat or similar garment is supported on the hanger in the manner indicated by the dotted lines in FIGURE 1 with the back portion of the coat overlying the spreader bar 10 and with the shoulder portions of the coat resting on the horizontal loops 12. The major weight of the coat is supported by the shoulder portions on the loops 12 which provide a relatively wide horizontal supporting area therefor so that the shoulder pads will not be bent or broken. Due to the forward bending of the end portions 11 of the spreader bar, the back of the coat will drape naturally over the hanger and will fall in a natural even drape.

The collar-lapel portion of the coat will engage and be supported by the portions 14 and 15 of the hanger which are bent forwardly from the shoulder portions 13, so that the collar and lapels will lie naturally and will not be drawn back, as with the usual flat wire hanger, to create wrinkling at the back of the collar area. As the hanger hangs from a bar the points of juncture between the portions 13 and 14 extend outwardly substantially to the vertical plane of the spreader bar, and then inwardly to produce the natural drape effect at the collar portion of the garment and to provide a concave eifect over the breast area. The portions 13 do not support any appreciable weight of the garment, so that they will not tend to produce a ridge or wire mark in the shoulder portion of the garment.

Thus, with the hanger of the present invention, a coat or similar garment is supported properly with a natural drape so that it will not tend to wrinkle or be damaged from shipment or storage.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment hanger comprising a wire having a substantially straight intermediate portion forming a spreader bar adapted to extend across and contact with the back of a garment, the wire being bent forwardly horizontally at each end of the spreader bar to form an open generally horizontal loop to provide a relatively wide generally horizontal support for the shoulder portions of a garment, the loops at the ends of the spreader bar and the end portions of the spreader bar being bent forwardly, the wires converging upwardly from the inner forward ends of the loops and joining at the upper central portion of the hanger and defining a hook by which the hanger is suspended, the converging portions of the wires intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof being offset rearwardly with respectto said spreader bar and adapted to be located toward the back-of a garment on'the hanger and away from the chest or lapel portion of a garment.

2. A garment hanger comprising a wire'having a substantially straight intermediate portion forming a spreader bar adapted to extend; across andjcontact,with the back of a garment, the wire being bent forwardlyhorizontally through an angle of'at least 180 at each end of the spreader barto torm an open generally horizontal. loop to provide a relatively wide generally horizontal support for the shoulder portions of a garment, the wires converging upwardly from the inner forward ends of the loops and joining at the upper central portion of the hanger and defining a hook by which the hanger is suspended, the wires angling toward a vertical plane throughthe spreader bar from the inner forward-ends of vthe loops to points more closely adjacentto the hook than to the inner forward ends of thQJlOOPS and .Tthenangling away from: said plane to the hooktodefine offsets inthe convergingportions of the-wires o ifsefrearwardly with 'respect to said plane and adapted to extend toward the back of a garment on the hanger-and away from thechest or lapel portion of a garment; f r

" 3. A garment hanger comprising'a wire havinga substanrtially straight intermediateportion forming a spreader bar adapted to extend across and-contact, with the hack of a garment, the wire being bent forwardlyrhorizontally through an angle of at least 180 at each end of the spreader bar to form an open generally horizontal loop to provide a relatively wide genefaillv'horizontal' support for the shoulder portions of a garment, the wires converging upwardly from the inner forward ends of the loops and joining at the upper central portion of the hanger and defining a hook by which the hanger is suspended, the converging'portions of the wires intermediate the upper-and'lower ends thereof being offset rearwardly with respect to said spreader bar and adapted tube 10,-

cate'd toward the back of. a garment onv the "hanger and away from the chest or lapel portion of a garment, the

hook being hent'relative' to the upper converging portions I Wordingham 2 23-92 5/33 Marble 223 ss 1 2/48 OGrady ,22392 7 FOREIGN PATENT 570,445 '9/5'3 Belgium. 1 296,974 5/54 Switzerland; 7 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary: Examiner RUSSELL c MADER, Examiner. 

3. A GARMENT HANGER COMPRISING A WIRE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT INTERMEDIATE PORTION FORMING A SPREADER BAR ADAPTED TO EXTEND ACROSS AND CONTACT WITH THE BACK OF A GARMENT, THE WIRE BEING BENT FORWARDLY HORIZONTALLY THROUGH AN ANGLE OF AT LEAST 180* AT EACH END OF THE SPREADER BAR TO FORM AN OPEN GENERALLY HORIZONTAL LOOP TO PROVIDE A RELATIVELY WIDE GENERALLY HORIZONTAL SUPPORT FOR THE SHOULDER PORTIONS OF A GARMENT, THE WIRES CONVERGING UPWARDLY FROM THE INNER FORWARD ENDS OF THE LOOPS AND JOINING AT THE UPPER CENTRAL PORTION OF THE HANGER AND DEFINING A HOOK BY WHICH THE HANGER IS SUSPENDED, THE CONVERGING PORTIONS OF THE WIRES INTERMEDIATE THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS THEREOF BEING OFFSET REARWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID SPREADER BAR AND ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED TOWARD THE BACK OF A GARMENT ON THE HANGER AND AWAY FROM THE CHEST OR LAPEL PORTION OF A GARMENT, THE HOOK BEING BENT RELATIVE TO THE UPPER CONVERGING PORTIONS OF THE WIRE TO LIE IN A PLANE FORWARDLY OF A PARALLEL PLANE THROUGH THE LOWER ENDS OF THE CONVERGING PORTIONS OF THE WIRE. 